Cherry Soda and Complicated Love
by KatyRose4
Summary: Prompt from Iconic Child Star. Cherry Valance shows up at the Dx one day with her 4 year old little sister. She wants to apologize to Pony for ignoring him throughout the school year and for not visiting Johnny at the hospital but Soda falls in love with her instead since he is just getting over the breakup with Sandy. (Note: Darry and Johnny are still alive.)


**Author's Note: Please alert me if there any inconsistencies with this and the movie :)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders**

It started out as a normal day at the Dx for Sodapop. Getting out the door involved the normal shenanigans. Two-Bit and the others barged in and stole some breakfast. Dally and Johnny went with him to the Dx to hang out with him for a little while.

Johnny hadn't always been the most cheerful guy, but if he had seemed depressed before, it was even worse then. The burns had confined to a wheelchair and he didn't like being the only one who couldn't walk. It felt strange, and he missed the mobility. They used to be rougher with him and would tease him, but it had stopped after the incident. He could tell they pitied him (at least slightly) and he hated it. Only his parents could get him out of the house, because being with them was a hell of a lot worse than being out. All of this was why Sodapop asked him, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Soda. You know that."

"Aw, don't be too hard on him. He's just upset he don't have a pretty girl to dote over," Dally teased.

Sodapop pushed him. "Oh shut it. I haven't seen her months. That's old news; let's talk about something else." Truth be told, he did think of Sandy still. He would give any excuse to think or talk about the good times he had with her, or how great she was. But they weren't together and that made it weird, and painful. He didn't like to be reminded that she had left him. It may have said that it was a long time ago, but it certainly didn't feel like it.

"What, like that hot brood over there?" He winked at a Soc on the other side of the store. She rolled her eyes in disgust and stepped a few feet back. Soda couldn't help but notice that she wore a skirt that was strikingly similar to one that Cherry wore. He thought that Cherry wore it better.

Dally didn't stop at the wink. He walked over. "Hey, what's your name?"

"None of your business," the girl spat back. She put down the magazine she had considered buying and left.

"Dally, you're losing my customers!" Sodapop complained. And he was only half joking. "Time for you to go." He pushed him towards the door.

"Fine, fine, fine." Dally gave a smirk and raised his hands in surrender, releasing himself from Soda's grasp. "I think we should go anyway. I have stuff to do. Come on, Johnny. I'll see you later tonight!" And they left.

That had been the most interesting part of Sodapop's day at that point. Business was slow and he was very bored. It was times like these that he would just sit back and let his mind wander. He thought of everything. He especially liked to think of Sandy and how much he missed her. He was mad at her for cheating, but if he looked past all that, she was nice, and pretty, and he liked being in a relationship.

Being around guys all day made him miss being with a woman. It seemed silly (which is why there was no way in hell he'd say it out loud) but he missed having a girlfriend. It wasn't even just about sex either. He missed hugging, kissing, the teasing from other guys. The guys were rough, which he liked, but girls added a little bit of a sweet side.

Still, there were many things to consider: she was gone, she had done something bad, and even if she came back, he wasn't going to hear it. It was time to get over Sandy. He was ready to go after the next girl that he saw which was why he planned to go out with Dally later. Dally always knew where to pick up hot chicks. He didn't always find the best ones, but any gal would do. That was why he hadn't thought anything of it when his heart started beating at the sight of Cherry Valence.

She was gorgeous. He had always thought that, but she was a Soc and he was a greaser, so he hadn't considered talking to her. But of course if she came up to him for a conversation he wouldn't decline. He was open and friendly to everyone. (Okay, maybe not _everyone_ , but most people). He knew that Ponyboy wasn't a big fan of Cherry- a significant amount of dinner conversations had included him complaining about her- but that didn't mean that Soda had to hate her too.

"Hey, Cherry," _Oh god, I probably sound like a nervous wreck,_ he thought. Then he turned his attention the little girl holding her hand. He bent down to meet her eye level. "And who's this?"

"My little sister, Jenny." Jenny had been looking at the ground, but when she heard her name, she perked up to see the tall guy in front of her.

"How old is she?"

"Four," she stated proudly.

"That's a good age to be."

"How old are you?" she asked. She was a very curious fellow.

"Sixteen."

"Then you know my sister? Cause you go to the same school?" Every other sixteen year old she knew had two things in common: they went to Cherry's high school, and they knew her. That's what happens when you're popular. She hadn't expected his answer.

"Well, I know her, but not well. I don't go to school."

"Why not?" she asked innocently.

"Um..." That was a question for another day. He didn't like to get into the story of the car crash, and he didn't want to talk about being a dropout. He stood up to talk to Cherry again. "So what can I help you with?"

"I'm not actually here as a customer. I wanted to talk to you about Ponyboy." The guilt and worry was radiating off of her chest. She wanted to talk to him, maybe even become friends with him again. If she wanted to be honest with herself, she would've said that she liked him and wanted to date him. But she knew that it wouldn't be easy. She understood what it was like to feel ignored and understood that he was probably upset. He was a strong kid, but one could only endure so much.

"What about him?"

"Has he said anything about me?" The question was surprising. Cherry had avoided Pony ever since the rumble, and Sodapop thought she didn't want anything to do with him.

"Um, well…he doesn't say much…" He was trying to protect her feelings. But she could see right through him.

"Give it to me straight Soda. I'm not a baby. I can take it." She wasn't as prissy as some of the greasers took her for. And it bothered her how people saw her that way; she could handle bad news.

"He's mad at you. You left him and he got sad so he decided to hate you." Aside from avoiding him at school, she also didn't visit Johnny in the hospital. And though she had her reasons, and even though he ended up fine, Ponyboy didn't see the situation the same way he did. Johnny was dying, and currently crippled, and Ponyboy wanted to see her support.

"That's why I'm here though, to apologize. I know that I should've been there, I know that. So I'm trying to make things right now. I need to talk to him."

"That's up to Ponyboy." He had no right to tell his brother what to do. He wasn't the one she hurt. Which is also why it made no sense that she went to him first. "Why'd you come over to me?"

"Because he likes you, and you can get him to soften towards me. Besides I wasn't going to go in there without knowing how he felt first. I'd be too scared."

"So what do you want me to do? Talk to him? I mean, I will but I can't make any promises."

"I'd really appreciate that. Thanks. You're a real stand-up guy. See you around."

"Again, not making any promises."

"I know, I know." She waved goodbye and dragged her sister out the door with her.

Sodapop sunk into a chair after she left. He didn't know why he said yes. He didn't want to get into the middle of drama between Pony and some random Soc girl- especially if it meant getting him mad. But it was in Soda's nature to be helpful, and Cherry seemed like a decent person. He felt that she deserved a second chance. He just hoped that Ponyboy would think so too.


End file.
